Fast SIMD Prototyping

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Introduction

• Introduction
• Simple Example
• Drawing a Circle
• Circle Cover Effect
• Hexagon Cover Effect
• History
• Reference

Introduction

Many a times, when we convert the computation code to SIMD using intrinsic, the SIMD code take more time and effort to write and it is unreadable and harder to maintain, compared to the scalar code. We do have to maintain a version of scalar code so that the application can fallback on when executed on a system without the SIMD support. More often than not, we discovered, to our dismay, the vectorized code is lower in performance. It is one thing to use well-optimized SIMD library and another to hand-code our own library using SIMD. In this article, we will introduce some SIMD vector class and their overloaded operators (+,-,*,/) that shipped with Visual C++ (the class are actually from Intel C++ Libraries) to ease our SIMD writing and lessen the effort to write readable SIMD code. Would you rather read/write z = x + y; or z = _mm_add_ps(x, y);? The answer is obvious. In this way, we can throw away our hand-written vectorized code without much heart pain in the event that they are found to be slower in execution.

Simple Example

Let me illustrate with an simple example of using SSE (not SSE2) float vector class, F32vec4, for integer to do addition of four numbers. F32vec4 is defined in the fvec.h header.

F32vec4 vec1(1.0f, 2.0f, 3.0f, 4.0f);
F32vec4 vec2(5.0f, 6.0f, 7.0f, 8.0f);

F32vec4 result = vec1 + vec2;

Without using the F32vec4 class and using pure SSE intrinsic, the code would be as follows. As you can see, using intrinsic, we have to either remember them or look them up in the documentation whenever we need to use them. For those who are looking into delaying the onset of dementia or Alzheimer, can try memorizing those hard-to-remember intrinsic names.

__m128 vec1 = _mm_set_ps(1.0f, 2.0f, 3.0f, 4.0f);
__m128 vec2 = _mm_set_ps(5.0f, 6.0f, 7.0f, 8.0f);

__m128 result = _mm_add_ps(vec1, vec2);

Below is the table which lists the vector classes and their associated header files from Optimizing software in C++ ebook.

Optimizing software in C++: It is not recommended to use the 64-bit vectors in ivec.h because these are incompatible with floating point code. If you do use the 64-bit vectors then you have to execute _mm_empty() after the 64-bit vector operations and before any floating point code. The 128-bit vectors do not have this problem. The 256-bit vectors require that the AVX instruction set is supported by the microprocessor and the operating system.

Most of the integer vector class do not support vector multiplication operations and all integer vector class do not support vector division operations, while float and double vector class do support vector addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Here is an example to implement your own integer (32bit) division operator using the scalar division. And of course, using scalar operation will be slower.

static inline Is32vec4 operator / (Is32vec4 const & a, Is32vec4 const & b) 
{
    Is32vec4 ans;
    ans[0] = a[0] / b[0];
    ans[1] = a[1] / b[1];
    ans[2] = a[2] / b[2];
    ans[3] = a[3] / b[3];
    return ans;
}

Drawing a Circle

We will use the F32vec4 class (128 bit float vector) to draw a circle. I'll show a plain scalar C++ code to do it first.

The code uses Pythagorean theorem to determine if the pixel falls within the circle. Using X and Y coordinates from the center of the circle, we calculate the hypotenuse, using sqrt(X²+Y²). The hypotenuse is the pixel distance from the center point. If it is smaller than the radius, then it is within the circle and the pixel should be set to green color.

// Draw Circle without optimization
void CScratchPadDlg::OnPaint()
{
    // ... non-relevant GDI+ code is not shown here

    if( !pixelsCanvas )
        return;

    UINT col = 0;
    int stride = bitmapDataCanvas.Stride >> 2;

    float fPointX = 100.0f; // x coordinates of the circle center
    float fPointY = 100.0f; // y coordinates of the circle center
    float fRadius = 40.0f; // radius of the circle center

    float fy=0.0f;
    float fx=0.0f;

    UINT color = 0xff00ff00;
    for(UINT row = 0, fy=0.0f; row < bitmapDataCanvas.Height; row+=1, fy+=1.0f)
    {
        for(col = 0, fx=0.0f; col < bitmapDataCanvas.Width; col+=1, fx+=1.0f)
        {
            // calculate the index of destination pixel array
            int index = row * stride + col;

            // Subtract center X from the pixel X coordinates
            float X = fx - fPointX;
            // Subtract center Y from the pixel Y coordinates
            float Y = fy - fPointY;

            // compute the square of X, that is X * X = X to power of 2
            X = X * X;
            // compute the square of Y, that is Y * Y = Y to power of 2
            Y = Y * Y;

            // Add up the X square and Y square
            float hypSq = X + Y;

            // Find the hypotenuse by computing square root
            float hyp = std::sqrt(hypSq);

            UINT origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index];
            if(hyp<=fRadius)
            {
                pixelsCanvas[index] = color;
            }
            else
            {
                pixelsCanvas[index] = origPixel;
            }
        }
    }

    graphics.DrawImage(m_pSrcBitmap,0,0,
      m_pSrcBitmap->GetWidth(),m_pSrcBitmap->GetHeight());
}

I have to admit this is an inefficient way to draw circle. A better and faster way is to draw a circle with a stroke and then use floodfill to fill the circle with a solid color. And there is also no antialiasing at the circle boundary. Our demo at the end requires circles to be drawn in such a way.

Below is the version written with intrinsic (not using F32vec4 yet). I will not try to explain this intrinsic version but I'll explain the F32vec4 version. Both version are similar.

// Draw Circle with SIMD intrinsic
void CScratchPadDlg::OnPaint()
{
    // ... non-relevant GDI+ code is not shown here

    UINT col = 0;
    int stride = bitmapDataCanvas.Stride >> 2;

    float fPointX = 100.0f; // x coordinates of the circle center
    float fPointY = 100.0f; // y coordinates of the circle center
    float fRadius = 40.0f; // radius of the circle center

    // vector of 4 x coordinates of the circle center
    __m128 vecPointX = _mm_set_ps1(fPointX);
    // vector of 4 y coordinates of the circle center
    __m128 vecPointY = _mm_set_ps1(fPointY);
    // vector of 4 radius of the circle center
    __m128 vecRadius = _mm_set_ps1(fRadius);

    float fy=0.0f;
    float fx=0.0f;

    UINT color = 0xff00ff00;
    for(UINT row = 0, fy=0.0f; row < bitmapDataCanvas.Height; row+=1, fy+=1.0f)
    {
        for(col = 0, fx=0.0f; col < bitmapDataCanvas.Width; col+=4, fx+=4.0f)
        {
            // calculate the index of destination pixel array
            int index = row * stride + col;

            // vector of X coordinates of the 4 pixels, it is inverse of of little endian
            __m128 vecX= _mm_set_ps(fx+3.0f, fx+2.0f, fx+1.0f, fx+0.0f);
            // vector of Y coordinates of the 4 pixels
            __m128 vecY = _mm_set_ps1(fy);

            // Subtract center X from the pixel X coordinates
            vecX = _mm_sub_ps(vecX, vecPointX);

            // Subtract center Y from the pixel Y coordinates
            vecY = _mm_sub_ps(vecY, vecPointY);

            // compute the square of X, that is X * X = X to power of 2
            vecX = _mm_mul_ps(vecX, vecX);
            // compute the square of Y, that is Y * Y = Y to power of 2
            vecY = _mm_mul_ps(vecY, vecY);

            // Add up the X square and Y square
            __m128 vecHypSq = _mm_add_ps(vecX, vecY);

            // Find the hypotenuse by computing square root
            __m128 vecHyp = _mm_sqrt_ps(vecHypSq);

            // Generate the mask for condition of hypotenuse < radius
            __m128 mask = _mm_cmple_ps(vecHyp, vecRadius);

            // all 4 pixel in mask vector, falls within the width
            if(col+3<bitmapDataCanvas.Width)
            {
                UINT origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+0];
                pixelsCanvas[index+0] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[0];
                pixelsCanvas[index+0] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[0]);

                origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+1];
                pixelsCanvas[index+1] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[1];
                pixelsCanvas[index+1] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[1]);

                origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+2];
                pixelsCanvas[index+2] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[2];
                pixelsCanvas[index+2] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[2]);

                origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+3];
                pixelsCanvas[index+3] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[3];
                pixelsCanvas[index+3] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[3]);
            }
            else // all 4 pixel in mask vector do not falls within the width: have to test 1 by 1.
            {
                UINT origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+0];
                pixelsCanvas[index+0] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[0];
                pixelsCanvas[index+0] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[0]);

                if(col+1<bitmapDataCanvas.Width)
                {
                    origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+1];

                    pixelsCanvas[index+1] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[1];
                    pixelsCanvas[index+1] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[1]);
                }

                if(col+2<bitmapDataCanvas.Width)
                {
                    origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+2];

                    pixelsCanvas[index+2] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[2];
                    pixelsCanvas[index+2] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[2]);
                }

                if(col+3<bitmapDataCanvas.Width)
                {
                    origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+3];

                    pixelsCanvas[index+3] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[3];
                    pixelsCanvas[index+3] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[3]);
                }
            }
        }
    }

    graphics.DrawImage(m_pSrcBitmap,0,0, 
             m_pSrcBitmap->GetWidth(),m_pSrcBitmap->GetHeight());
}

Below is the code written with F32vec4 class provided by Microsoft Visual Studio. In fact, I wrote the vector class version first, then wrote the scalar and SIMD intrinsic version. It's easier to convert the vector class version to the intrinsic version: I only have to look up the intrinsic name inside the vector class overloaded operators and replace them accordingly.

// Draw Circle with SIMD class
void CScratchPadDlg::OnPaint()
{
    // ... non-relevant GDI+ code is not shown here

    UINT col = 0;
    int stride = bitmapDataCanvas.Stride >> 2;

    float fPointX = 100.0f; // x coordinates of the circle center
    float fPointY = 100.0f; // y coordinates of the circle center
    float fRadius = 40.0f; // radius of the circle center

    // vector of 4 x coordinates of the circle center
    F32vec4 vecPointX(fPointX);
    // vector of 4 y coordinates of the circle center
    F32vec4 vecPointY(fPointY);
    // vector of 4 radius of the circle center
    F32vec4 vecRadius(fRadius);

    float fy=0.0f;
    float fx=0.0f;

    UINT color = 0xff00ff00;
    for(UINT row = 0, fy=0.0f; row < bitmapDataCanvas.Height; row+=1, fy+=1.0f)
    {
        for(col = 0, fx=0.0f; col < bitmapDataCanvas.Width; col+=4, fx+=4.0f)
        {
            // calculate the index of destination pixel array
            int index = row * stride + col;

            // vector of X coordinates of the 4 pixels, it is inverse of of little endian
            F32vec4 vecX(fx+3.0f, fx+2.0f, fx+1.0f, fx+0.0f);
            // vector of Y coordinates of the 4 pixels
            F32vec4 vecY((float)(fy));

            // Subtract center X from the pixel X coordinates
            vecX -= vecPointX;
            // Subtract center Y from the pixel Y coordinates
            vecY -= vecPointY;

            // compute the square of X, that is X * X = X to power of 2
            vecX = vecX * vecX;
            // compute the square of Y, that is Y * Y = Y to power of 2
            vecY = vecY * vecY;

            // Add up the X square and Y square
            F32vec4 vecHypSq = vecX + vecY;

            // Find the hypotenuse by computing square root
            F32vec4 vecHyp = sqrt(vecHypSq);

            // Generate the mask for condition of hypotenuse < radius
            F32vec4 mask = cmple(vecHyp, vecRadius);

            // all 4 pixel in mask vector, falls within the width
            if(col+3<bitmapDataCanvas.Width)
            {
                UINT origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+0];
                pixelsCanvas[index+0] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[0];
                pixelsCanvas[index+0] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[0]);

                origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+1];
                pixelsCanvas[index+1] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[1];
                pixelsCanvas[index+1] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[1]);

                origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+2];
                pixelsCanvas[index+2] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[2];
                pixelsCanvas[index+2] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[2]);

                origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+3];
                pixelsCanvas[index+3] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[3];
                pixelsCanvas[index+3] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[3]);
            }
            else // all 4 pixel in mask vector do not falls within the width: have to test 1 by 1.
            {
                UINT origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+0];
                pixelsCanvas[index+0] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[0];
                pixelsCanvas[index+0] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[0]);

                if(col+1<bitmapDataCanvas.Width)
                {
                    origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+1];

                    pixelsCanvas[index+1] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[1];
                    pixelsCanvas[index+1] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[1]);
                }

                if(col+2<bitmapDataCanvas.Width)
                {
                    origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+2];

                    pixelsCanvas[index+2] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[2];
                    pixelsCanvas[index+2] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[2]);
                }

                if(col+3<bitmapDataCanvas.Width)
                {
                    origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+3];

                    pixelsCanvas[index+3] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[3];
                    pixelsCanvas[index+3] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[3]);
                }
            }
        }
    }

    graphics.DrawImage(m_pSrcBitmap,0,0,m_pSrcBitmap->GetWidth(),m_pSrcBitmap->GetHeight());
}

The benchmark result is as below.

Intel i7 CPU (Quad Core)

Debug Mode

Scalar : 12ms
SSE Intrinsic : 5ms
SSE vector class : 38ms.

Release Mode

Scalar : 2ms
SSE Intrinsic : 1ms
SSE vector class : 1ms.

Core 2 Duo CPU (Dual Core)

Debug Mode

Scalar : 18ms
SSE Intrinsic : 5ms
SSE vector class : 57ms.

Release Mode

Scalar : 4ms
SSE Intrinsic : 1ms
SSE vector class : 1ms.

As the reader can see, the benchmark result for the SSE vector in debug build is very bad and is not acceptable for our demo application which animates the expanding circle on a interval of 30 milliseconds. The reason is probably because in debug build, the inline constructor and methods are not inline'd by the compiler. I work around it by always running the program in release mode. After all, it is a simple graphics program which does not need debugging, I figure out what is wrong by observing.

Now I begin to explain the previous code snippet.

float fPointX = 100.0f; // x coordinates of the circle center
float fPointY = 100.0f; // y coordinates of the circle center
float fRadius = 40.0f; // radius of the circle center

// vector of 4 x coordinates of the circle center
F32vec4 vecPointX(fPointX);
// vector of 4 y coordinates of the circle center
F32vec4 vecPointY(fPointY);
// vector of 4 radius of the circle center
F32vec4 vecRadius(fRadius);

This code merely initialize the two vector of X coordinates and Y coordinates of the circle center. The third vector is circle radius.

float fy=0.0f;
float fx=0.0f;

UINT color = 0xff00ff00;
for(UINT row = 0, fy=0.0f; row < bitmapDataCanvas.Height; row+=1, fy+=1.0f)
{
    for(col = 0, fx=0.0f; col < bitmapDataCanvas.Width; col+=4, fx+=4.0f)
    {
        // calculate the index of destination pixel array
        int index = row * stride + col;

        // vector of X coordinates of the 4 pixels, it is inverse of of little endian
        F32vec4 vecX(fx+3.0f, fx+2.0f, fx+1.0f, fx+0.0f);
        // vector of Y coordinates of the 4 pixels
        F32vec4 vecY((float)(fy));

This is a nested for loop. The outer loop iterates the rows while the inner loop iterates every 4 columns. vecX and vecY are the columns and rows of the pixels. You may have noticed that the float arguments to vecX constructor is reversed. This is due to little endianness of Intel processor. Below is what it looks like if they are not reversed.

// Subtract center X from the pixel X coordinates
vecX -= vecPointX;
// Subtract center Y from the pixel Y coordinates
vecY -= vecPointY;

// compute the square of X, that is X * X = X to power of 2
vecX = vecX * vecX;
// compute the square of Y, that is Y * Y = Y to power of 2
vecY = vecY * vecY;

// Add up the X square and Y square
F32vec4 vecHypSq = vecX + vecY;

// Find the hypotenuse by computing square root
F32vec4 vecHyp = sqrt(vecHypSq);

Now we subtract the circle center from the XY coordinates of the pixels to get where the pixels are in relative to te circle center. We may get a negative X or Y result but we do not have to convert them to the absolute value because the next multiplication operation to compute for the squared value (e.g., X², Y²), will convert negative values to positive values because the product of two negative numbers gives a positive result. The rest of the code computes the hypotenuse.

// Generate the mask for condition of hypotenuse < radius
F32vec4 mask = cmple(vecHyp, vecRadius);

The first statement generates a mask if the hypotenuse of the triangle is less than the circle radius. The mask is all ones (0xffffffff) when the condition is true, else is all zeroes

// all 4 pixel in mask vector, falls within the width
if(col+3<bitmapDataCanvas.Width)
{
    UINT origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+0];
    pixelsCanvas[index+0] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[0];
    pixelsCanvas[index+0] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[0]);

    origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+1];
    pixelsCanvas[index+1] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[1];
    pixelsCanvas[index+1] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[1]);

    origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+2];
    pixelsCanvas[index+2] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[2];
    pixelsCanvas[index+2] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[2]);

    origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+3];
    pixelsCanvas[index+3] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[3];
    pixelsCanvas[index+3] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[3]);
}
else // all 4 pixel in mask vector do not falls within the width: have to test 1 by 1.
{
    UINT origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+0];
    pixelsCanvas[index+0] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[0];
    pixelsCanvas[index+0] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[0]);

    if(col+1<bitmapDataCanvas.Width)
    {
        origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+1];

        pixelsCanvas[index+1] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[1];
        pixelsCanvas[index+1] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[1]);
    }

    if(col+2<bitmapDataCanvas.Width)
    {
        origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+2];

        pixelsCanvas[index+2] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[2];
        pixelsCanvas[index+2] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[2]);
    }

    if(col+3<bitmapDataCanvas.Width)
    {
        origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+3];

        pixelsCanvas[index+3] = color & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[3];
        pixelsCanvas[index+3] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[3]);
    }
}

The first if condition test whether column + 3 is less than the image width. If it is, it will assign the color to the pixelCanvas[i] according if the mask is 0xffffffff. If mask is all zeros, the original color will be applied to pixelCanvas[i] instead. The else block executes when column + 3 is more than the image width and we have to test every pixel whether it is within the boundary before assigning the color to pixelCanvas[i].

Out of curiosity, I modified the earlier code snippet to draw a circle with a gradient. You noticed the gradients color 'spiked' into the center. This is okay because our final demo does not involve gradients.

// Draw Circle with gradient
void CScratchPadDlg::OnPaint()
{
    // ... non-relevant GDI+ code is not shown here

    UINT col = 0;
    int stride = bitmapDataCanvas.Stride >> 2;

    float fPointX = 50.0f; // x coordinates of the circle center
    float fPointY = 50.0f; // Y coordinates of the circle center
    float fRadius = 40.0f; // radius of the circle center

    // vector of 4 x coordinates of the circle center
    F32vec4 vecPointX(fPointX, fPointX, fPointX, fPointX);
    // vector of 4 x coordinates of the circle center
    F32vec4 vecPointY(fPointY, fPointY, fPointY, fPointY);
    // vector of 4 radius of the circle center
    F32vec4 vecRadius(fRadius, fRadius, fRadius, fRadius);

    float fy=0.0f;
    float fx=0.0f;

    UINT color = 0xff0000ff;
    UINT color2 = 0xff00ffff;

    UINT* arrGrad = GenGrad(color, color2, 40);

    for(UINT row = 0, fy=0.0f; row < bitmapDataCanvas.Height; row+=1, fy+=1.0f)
    {
        for(col = 0, fx=0.0f; col < bitmapDataCanvas.Width; col+=4, fx+=4.0f)
        {
            // calculate the index of destination pixel array
            int index = row * stride + col;

            // vector of X coordinates of the 4 pixels, it is inverse of of little endian
            F32vec4 vecX(fx+3.0f, fx+2.0f, fx+1.0f, fx+0.0f);
            // vector of Y coordinates of the 4 pixels
            F32vec4 vecY(fy, fy, fy, fy);

            // Subtract center X from the pixel X coordinates
            vecX -= vecPointX;
            // Subtract center Y from the pixel Y coordinates
            vecY -= vecPointY;

            // compute the square of X, that is X * X = X to power of 2
            vecX = vecX * vecX;
            // compute the square of Y, that is Y * Y = Y to power of 2
            vecY = vecY * vecY;

            // Add up the X square and Y square
            F32vec4 vecHypSq = vecX + vecY;

            // Find the hypotenuse by computing square root
            F32vec4 vecHyp = sqrt(vecHypSq);

            // Generate the mask for condition of hypotenuse < radius
            F32vec4 mask = cmple(vecHyp, vecRadius);

            // all 4 pixel in mask vector, falls within the width
            if(col+3<bitmapDataCanvas.Width)
            {
                UINT origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+0];

                pixelsCanvas[index+0] = 
                  arrGrad[ (int)((__m128(vecHyp)).m128_f32[0]) ] & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[0];
                pixelsCanvas[index+0] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[0]);

                origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+1];
                pixelsCanvas[index+1] = 
                  arrGrad[ (int)((__m128(vecHyp)).m128_f32[1]) ] & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[1];
                pixelsCanvas[index+1] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[1]);

                origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+2];
                pixelsCanvas[index+2] = 
                  arrGrad[ (int)((__m128(vecHyp)).m128_f32[2]) ] & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[2];
                pixelsCanvas[index+2] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[2]);

                origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+3];
                pixelsCanvas[index+3] = 
                  arrGrad[ (int)((__m128(vecHyp)).m128_f32[3]) ] & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[3];
                pixelsCanvas[index+3] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[3]);
            }
            else // all 4 pixel in mask vector do not falls within the width: have to test 1 by 1.
            {
                UINT origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+0];

                pixelsCanvas[index+0] = 
                  arrGrad[ (int)((__m128(vecHyp)).m128_f32[0]) ] & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[0];
                pixelsCanvas[index+0] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[0]);

                if(col+1<bitmapDataCanvas.Width)
                {
                    origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+1];

                    pixelsCanvas[index+1] = 
                       arrGrad[ (int)((__m128(vecHyp)).m128_f32[1]) ] & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[1];
                    pixelsCanvas[index+1] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[1]);
                }

                if(col+2<bitmapDataCanvas.Width)
                {
                    origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+2];

                    pixelsCanvas[index+2] = 
                       arrGrad[ (int)((__m128(vecHyp)).m128_f32[2]) ] & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[2];
                    pixelsCanvas[index+2] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[2]);
                }

                if(col+3<bitmapDataCanvas.Width)
                {
                    origPixel = pixelsCanvas[index+3];

                    pixelsCanvas[index+3] = 
                       arrGrad[ (int)((__m128(vecHyp)).m128_f32[3]) ] & (__m128(mask)).m128_u32[3];
                    pixelsCanvas[index+3] |= origPixel & ~((__m128(mask)).m128_u32[3]);
                }
            }
        }
    }

    delete [] arrGrad;

    graphics.DrawImage(m_pSrcBitmap,0,0,m_pSrcBitmap->GetWidth(),m_pSrcBitmap->GetHeight());
}

UINT* CDrawCircleDlg::GenGrad(UINT a, UINT b, UINT len)
{
    int r1=(a&0xff0000)>>16,g1=(a&0xff00)>>8,b1=(a&0xff); //Any start color
    int r2=(b&0xff0000)>>16,g2=(b&0xff00)>>8,b2=(b&0xff); //Any start color

    UINT* arr = new UINT[len+1];

    for(UINT i=0;i<len+1;i++)
    { 
        int r,g,b;
        r = r1 + (i * (r2-r1) / len);
        g = g1 + (i * (g2-g1) / len);
        b = b1 + (i * (b2-b1) / len);
        
        arr[i] = 0xff000000 | r << 16 | g << 8 | b;
    }

    return arr;
}

Circle Cover Effect

In this section, we are going to use the code which we developed previously for drawing circle to implement a circle cover effect where a circle keep expanding and exposing the image underneath. So how does the code know when to stop expanding (that is when the entire image is already covered/replaced)? Look at the image below. When you mouse-click on the client area, the distance from the 4 corner are calculated and the longest distance (red line) is selected as the maximum radius to expand.

Tip: you can replace the flickr1.jpg and flickr2.jpg in the res folder with your own images (just rename them to be flickr1.jpg and flickr2.jpg but their dimension have to be equal), the CircleCover application will automatically resize its client dimension to be the same as the 1st embedded image on startup.

Hexagon Cover Effect

The hexagon cover effect is similar to the circle cover application. The only difference is the expanding edge is replaced by little hexagons. As with the CircleCover application, you can replace the images before compilation.

This is how it works. The difference between each hexagon center and the mouse point is calculated. If the difference is greater than the hexagon, then the hexagon should be displayed. If the difference is smaller, then a pre-computed mask (which store the distance of each pixel from the hexagon center) is used to determine whether the pixel underneath should be displayed. I did not convert this application to use SSE, simply because the speed gain will not be much as the number of distance to compute between each hexagon center and the mouse point, are not many. And the distance of each pixel from the hexagon center is pre-computed as a mask. I leave it as a exercise for the reader to convert this code to use SSE. The source code is heavily commented.

Conclusion

We has seen how to use the SIMD vector class provided by Visual Studio for code clarity and code speedup. However, we have also seen the speed penalty in debug build is quite bad (40x). Only simple operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and square root are provided by SIMD vector class. There is no trigonometry functions (like sine and cosine). This is why I restricted my effect to use Pythagorean theorem. The source code is hosted at CodePlex.

History

• 5 March 2012: Added how to write integer division operation using scalar division.
• 28 February 2012: Updated the article with table of the vector classes and their header files.
• 19 February 2012: First release

Reference

• Optimizing software in C++ by Agner Fog